WEBVTT - The Privilege of Worship, Part 4 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.760 Listen, how many of you understand that worship is not 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:11.719 a spectator sport? It's a participatory sport that all of 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:15.520 us ought to be engaged in worship. 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:25.240 You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.280 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:30.360 I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us today. As we 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:34.000 continue our look at Psalm 65 and a message called 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:38.240 The Privilege of Worship. And pastor, I want to drill 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.800 down just for a moment on the title of this message, 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:46.040 The Privilege of Worship. Because I think sometimes we might 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:49.200 hear that, well, this is an obligation that we're supposed 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:51.640 to do, and it is in a sense. But, boy, 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:53.680 help us get to the mindset that this is a 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:55.320 privilege for us to do. 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:59.760 Well, the best thing that I could say about that, Steve, 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:06.120 is this If I had an invitation to a place 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:10.800 where I felt that there was somebody that was a 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:15.440 superior person in terms of their standing and their state, 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:20.919 it would really, really be a privilege to be invited 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:24.959 to come to that place. Now we as believers have 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:31.279 been invited by the awesome Almighty God to come into 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:37.000 his presence. Look, why in the world would someone as 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:43.319 awesome as God want to have someone as depraved as 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:47.840 I am to be in his presence? And then listen. 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:52.440 Listen to the Scripture. Therefore, let us come boldly to 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.120 the throne of grace, that we may find grace and 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:57.600 mercy to help us in time of need. Now that's 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.360 in the book of Hebrews. It was written to Jewish Christians. 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:04.440 They must have gasped because they knew the picture was 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.200 about the Holy of Holies, where only the High priest 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:13.480 could go in once a year on Yom Kippur. October 10th, 1111. 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:16.359 It's the month of Tishrei. On the Jewish calendar. And 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:20.280 it's like what? We can go in every day at 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:24.360 any time of day or night. Into what? 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:26.840 And going boldly. Not with a rope tied around your ankle. 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:30.560 Right. Or bells? Yeah. On. On the tassels of your 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:35.200 high priestly robe. And it's like, why don't we understand? 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:38.360 And you know, I tell you what brings it in context. 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:42.080 Look at the persecuted church. And I have to hide 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.519 and go in the woods and have house churches where 0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:47.680 they can't let anyone know where many of them are 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:51.280 being martyred just for saying the name of Jesus Christ. 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:54.679 I guarantee you, if they had what we have here 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:57.640 in America. Oh, wow. 0:02:58.680 --> 0:02:59.040 Yeah. 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:00.320 It'd be a blessing to them. 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:04.310 Tool absolutely would. Well, this is a message entitled The 0:03:04.310 --> 0:03:07.350 Privilege of Worship. And we're going to be in Psalm 0:03:07.350 --> 0:03:09.709 65 today. So if you can grab a Bible and 0:03:09.710 --> 0:03:11.990 join us there. Here is Pastor Ford. 0:03:12.710 --> 0:03:17.030 I've done chapel for about 18 or 19 of the 0:03:17.030 --> 0:03:22.070 professional football teams in our country. Every time I go, 0:03:22.350 --> 0:03:26.310 it's the only place I go where as big as 0:03:26.310 --> 0:03:31.870 I am, I feel like Pee-Wee Herman. I look at 0:03:31.870 --> 0:03:37.070 these athletes and I mean them. Some big corn fed boys, 0:03:37.270 --> 0:03:41.310 them offensive linemen and and, uh, I was with the 0:03:41.310 --> 0:03:45.990 Minnesota Vikings. I met the sinner. And, uh, he stood 0:03:45.990 --> 0:03:48.910 up and he just towered over me. How you doing? 0:03:49.070 --> 0:03:53.510 I said, I'm doing fine. Gotta try to equal him 0:03:53.510 --> 0:03:57.070 some kind of way. And sometimes when I'm with these teams, 0:03:57.070 --> 0:03:59.150 I'm not going to. I'm not going to kid you. 0:03:59.150 --> 0:04:02.750 I feel as out of place as a £500 man 0:04:02.790 --> 0:04:07.470 at a Jenny Craig reunion. And so normally what they'll 0:04:07.470 --> 0:04:10.390 do is, uh, it depends on what team. Some teams 0:04:10.390 --> 0:04:13.070 are real nice. Uh, so, like, when I first did 0:04:13.070 --> 0:04:16.870 the bears, I was in the owner's box. General. And man, 0:04:16.870 --> 0:04:18.909 that was that was nice. All the food that was 0:04:18.910 --> 0:04:23.029 in there, and it was all free. Shoot you. You know, 0:04:23.029 --> 0:04:26.190 I love that. And they'll give you two tickets. Some 0:04:26.190 --> 0:04:29.789 teams give you money and tickets and, uh, you know, 0:04:29.830 --> 0:04:38.670 I always like to do those teams. Uh, uh, so, so, uh, sometimes, uh, 0:04:38.710 --> 0:04:40.229 and they told me, they said, you know, I'm on a, 0:04:40.230 --> 0:04:42.390 a list. I said, well, I appreciate that because I 0:04:42.390 --> 0:04:45.110 asked them, when these teams come to town, why do 0:04:45.110 --> 0:04:47.190 they call me? And he said, you're on our A list. 0:04:47.390 --> 0:04:48.750 And I said, well, you have a A list. Yeah, 0:04:48.750 --> 0:04:51.669 you're on our A list. And I said, man, that's great. 0:04:51.910 --> 0:04:55.110 And so I made the A list. And what happens 0:04:55.110 --> 0:04:58.390 quite often is like when, uh, Coach Davis was the 0:04:59.190 --> 0:05:01.990 coach of the Cleveland Browns. He would fly me around 0:05:01.990 --> 0:05:07.270 the country to do chapels, and green Bay asked me 0:05:07.270 --> 0:05:10.310 to come up and do a Sunday night chapel, and 0:05:10.310 --> 0:05:13.230 they give me tickets to Monday Night Football game. That 0:05:13.230 --> 0:05:16.430 was in green Bay. And I thought, oh, wow. And 0:05:16.430 --> 0:05:19.110 I have a friend that I wanted to kind of 0:05:19.550 --> 0:05:22.150 say thank you to. So I said, look, I'm going 0:05:22.190 --> 0:05:26.270 to do the chapel, green Bay, and if you'll come, uh, 0:05:26.310 --> 0:05:29.910 they usually give me two tickets and they're usually pretty nice. 0:05:29.950 --> 0:05:33.150 If no, nowhere else. We're on a 50 yard line. Uh, 0:05:33.150 --> 0:05:35.590 you know, I'll get us a hotel room for the night. 0:05:35.630 --> 0:05:39.190 Not together. Separate, and we can go to Monday Night Football. 0:05:39.230 --> 0:05:41.990 He said, man, that's nice. So we we get up there, 0:05:42.029 --> 0:05:44.990 we we have chapel, meet some of the players and 0:05:44.990 --> 0:05:46.990 all that kind of stuff. And then we head to 0:05:47.029 --> 0:05:50.470 the hotel. We get to the hotel and I say, 0:05:50.470 --> 0:05:53.469 my name is Pastor James Ford Junior, have a reservation. 0:05:53.670 --> 0:05:57.990 And he said, oh yes, yes. Good to see Mr. Ford. And, uh, 0:05:57.990 --> 0:06:00.630 can I have your credit card and your license? And 0:06:00.630 --> 0:06:03.270 so I get my credit card and license. And he 0:06:03.270 --> 0:06:05.830 goes and does what they do with the credit card. 0:06:06.029 --> 0:06:09.790 He came back and he said, uh, I'm sorry, sir, 0:06:11.029 --> 0:06:15.630 but your card was declined. Now I wonder to myself, 0:06:15.630 --> 0:06:19.230 why does it always sound like he said, I'm sorry, sir, 0:06:19.589 --> 0:06:28.310 your card was declined. Yeah. And I said, oh, oh, oh, 0:06:28.390 --> 0:06:29.830 I don't know what's going on. So I gave him 0:06:29.830 --> 0:06:32.589 a second card. Brother green and he went and he 0:06:32.589 --> 0:06:35.429 came back and he said the same thing, sir. I'm 0:06:35.430 --> 0:06:39.030 sorry your card was declined. And so, you know, I 0:06:39.029 --> 0:06:41.670 only had one more. And I'm thinking, oh, man. So 0:06:41.670 --> 0:06:44.150 I'm looking at my friend and he's light skinned. So 0:06:44.150 --> 0:06:47.870 he was turning red for me and and so I 0:06:47.870 --> 0:06:50.110 gave my last card and I knew this card would 0:06:50.110 --> 0:06:52.950 go through. Same reason, you know, your card is going 0:06:52.990 --> 0:06:55.870 to go through sometimes. Why? Because I just made the 0:06:55.870 --> 0:06:59.150 payment on that card. And so I said I just 0:06:59.150 --> 0:07:01.910 made the payment on this card. This one will go through. 0:07:02.430 --> 0:07:05.109 He didn't say anything when he came back. He just said, 0:07:05.910 --> 0:07:10.910 uh uh uh uh, and and so now, you know, 0:07:10.950 --> 0:07:12.990 I'm totally embarrassed. What are we going to do all 0:07:12.990 --> 0:07:16.070 of a sudden? My friend throws a black card up 0:07:16.070 --> 0:07:20.830 on the counter. Now, I had never seen a black card. Uh, 0:07:20.830 --> 0:07:23.630 I didn't know what a black card was, but I 0:07:23.630 --> 0:07:27.230 knew it had to be something, uh, because the person 0:07:27.550 --> 0:07:33.750 that was waiting on us started smiling, and he said, oh, okay. Uh, yes. 0:07:33.750 --> 0:07:36.989 And so got us two rooms and, you know, so afterward, 0:07:36.990 --> 0:07:39.550 I said, now, I never seen a black car that's 0:07:39.550 --> 0:07:42.310 a black. He said, oh, yeah, that's that's a black car. 0:07:42.310 --> 0:07:45.470 That's what it's called, a black car. I said, okay, well, 0:07:45.710 --> 0:07:48.830 you know, I don't get it. He said, well, you 0:07:48.830 --> 0:07:52.190 have $1 million line of credit. I said, I gotta 0:07:52.190 --> 0:07:56.790 get me one of those. He said, well, in order 0:07:56.790 --> 0:08:01.670 to get one, you got to spend $1 million. I said, oh, okay. 0:08:01.670 --> 0:08:04.230 Let's see. I looked at what the wife spins. It 0:08:04.230 --> 0:08:06.590 took me, what, maybe 4 or 5 years to get 0:08:06.590 --> 0:08:12.590 it up to a million. He said, no, you got 0:08:12.630 --> 0:08:16.150 to spend a million at one time. I said, oh, well, 0:08:16.150 --> 0:08:20.150 it's a good idea. And so there were some things 0:08:20.150 --> 0:08:23.270 I needed. And and he just said, look, look, he said, 0:08:23.270 --> 0:08:25.230 I got $1 million line of credit. Just go and 0:08:25.230 --> 0:08:28.790 help yourself. Whatever you need, get it. I needed the shirt, 0:08:28.790 --> 0:08:32.590 some other things and order dinner to the room. And so, 0:08:32.630 --> 0:08:35.150 you know, he told me, yeah, go ahead. And I 0:08:35.150 --> 0:08:37.830 intended to pay him back. So I, you know, I 0:08:37.830 --> 0:08:40.750 just went on and got a few things. And when 0:08:40.750 --> 0:08:43.110 I tried to pay him back, he said, he said 0:08:43.110 --> 0:08:48.069 to me, no, you can't pay me back. And I said, no, 0:08:48.070 --> 0:08:49.830 I need to pay you back. He said, no, you 0:08:49.830 --> 0:08:53.470 can't pay me back. See, you already paid me. I 0:08:53.470 --> 0:08:59.350 already pay you. You said thank you. That was payment enough, right? Well, 0:08:59.350 --> 0:09:02.179 you don't have to try to twist my arm to 0:09:02.220 --> 0:09:05.660 convince me, you know? And but I thought about it. 0:09:05.660 --> 0:09:09.740 I said, man, that's amazing. Here's somebody. Now I'm supposed 0:09:09.740 --> 0:09:12.459 to take them out. And all of a sudden now 0:09:12.500 --> 0:09:15.780 my credit card doesn't make it. And then I begin 0:09:15.780 --> 0:09:18.380 to think about it. I said, you know what some 0:09:18.380 --> 0:09:22.100 of us need to learn from what I went through? Uh, 0:09:22.140 --> 0:09:29.340 because all he expected for such a magnitude of generosity 0:09:29.740 --> 0:09:34.060 was an attitude of gratitude. Amen. He can't expect anything else. 0:09:35.260 --> 0:09:38.140 All he wanted me to do was say thank you. 0:09:38.380 --> 0:09:41.460 I couldn't pay him back and definitely couldn't match the 0:09:41.460 --> 0:09:46.420 limit on the credit card. Yeah, uh, but all it 0:09:46.420 --> 0:09:49.980 was was a thank you. That's it. Come here. See? See? 0:09:49.980 --> 0:09:54.100 You want a reservation in heaven and you put down 0:09:54.100 --> 0:10:02.940 your personal righteousness credit card and it came back. Declined. Uh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 0:10:02.980 --> 0:10:09.939 I'm sorry. It's declined. You tried your works righteousness credit card, and, uh, 0:10:09.940 --> 0:10:13.900 you said my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds, and 0:10:13.900 --> 0:10:19.020 it came back. Declined. You put down your baptism credit card, 0:10:20.500 --> 0:10:25.340 and it came back declined. And so you put down your. 0:10:25.460 --> 0:10:28.340 My daddy was a deacon. My mama was on the 0:10:28.340 --> 0:10:33.980 mother's board. My relative knows Christ credit card, and it 0:10:33.980 --> 0:10:41.620 was declined. So you threw all your humanistic, self-righteous credit cards, 0:10:41.620 --> 0:10:46.060 and they all were declined because none of them would 0:10:46.059 --> 0:10:53.020 be able to get you a reservation in heaven. Yeah. Yeah. Mm. 0:10:53.940 --> 0:10:58.060 Then Jesus stepped up, and he didn't put down a 0:10:58.059 --> 0:11:03.100 black card. He put down a red car. Yeah, that's 0:11:03.100 --> 0:11:06.820 what he put down. He put down a red card. 0:11:06.860 --> 0:11:10.660 You see a black card? It covers you. Uh, but 0:11:10.660 --> 0:11:13.820 a red card, it covers la de da de. And 0:11:13.820 --> 0:11:18.140 everybody John 316 says, For God so loved the world 0:11:18.140 --> 0:11:21.980 that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth. See, 0:11:21.980 --> 0:11:25.980 a black card has $1 million ceiling. Uh, but a 0:11:25.980 --> 0:11:30.060 red card. Ephesians one three. You're blessed with all spiritual 0:11:30.100 --> 0:11:34.380 blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Yeah, I got 0:11:34.380 --> 0:11:39.300 a red card. See, the black card covers your purchases. Uh, 0:11:39.300 --> 0:11:47.500 but the red card purchases you and covers you. And so. Jesus. Uh, 0:11:47.500 --> 0:11:51.500 he did it with his red card. Jesus paid it all. 0:11:51.540 --> 0:11:55.140 All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. 0:11:55.140 --> 0:11:58.740 He washed me white as snow. Maybe that's why, uh, 0:11:58.740 --> 0:12:02.620 the writer said that I know it was the blood. 0:12:02.620 --> 0:12:05.140 I know it was the blood. I know it was 0:12:05.140 --> 0:12:07.740 the blood for me. One day when I was lost, 0:12:07.740 --> 0:12:11.820 he died upon the cross. I know it was the 0:12:11.820 --> 0:12:15.939 blood for me. And listen, Jesus said, you can't pay 0:12:15.940 --> 0:12:19.660 me back. You can't pay me back. I tell you what. 0:12:19.700 --> 0:12:23.500 All I want you to do is praise me. Amen. 0:12:23.740 --> 0:12:25.980 That's all I want you to do is give me 0:12:25.980 --> 0:12:29.579 some praise. All I want you to do is thank me. 0:12:29.980 --> 0:12:31.980 All I want you to do is lift me up. 0:12:32.380 --> 0:12:34.820 All I want you to do is magnify my name. 0:12:35.100 --> 0:12:37.860 All I ask you to do is shout to the Lord. 0:12:38.140 --> 0:12:41.220 All I ask you to do is to be grateful 0:12:41.460 --> 0:12:46.340 that your name is written in my blood, in my book, 0:12:46.580 --> 0:12:50.540 and you are going to live for all eternity. And 0:12:50.540 --> 0:12:55.140 it covers you in the past, the present, and the future. 0:12:55.300 --> 0:12:57.700 That's something that shout about. 0:13:04.420 --> 0:13:07.540 You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message 0:13:07.540 --> 0:13:10.780 called The Privilege of Worship. And as you've been listening 0:13:10.820 --> 0:13:13.820 to this teaching on Psalm 65, I hope that it's 0:13:13.820 --> 0:13:16.340 been encouraging you in your walk with Christ. If so, 0:13:16.620 --> 0:13:18.780 we'd love to hear about that. You can always drop 0:13:18.780 --> 0:13:22.460 us a note through our website, Treasure tree.org, or through 0:13:22.460 --> 0:13:25.780 social media like Facebook or Twitter. We recently heard from 0:13:25.780 --> 0:13:28.699 a listener named Carol who writes, thank you, Pastor Ford, 0:13:28.700 --> 0:13:31.020 for how much of the word of God you shared 0:13:31.020 --> 0:13:34.980 and expounded on today. You targeted my heart, made me cry, 0:13:35.179 --> 0:13:39.699 made me rejoice. May our loving Savior bless you. Well, 0:13:39.700 --> 0:13:41.940 thanks Carol for giving us some feedback and you can 0:13:41.940 --> 0:13:45.700 do so again through our website, npr.org. Click on the 0:13:45.700 --> 0:13:49.059 contact link or through social media. But right now, let's 0:13:49.059 --> 0:13:52.020 get back to the message. Here is Pastor Ford. 0:13:52.940 --> 0:13:58.460 Now I'm ready to quit. Amen. But I can't I 0:13:58.460 --> 0:14:01.420 gotta give you a little something. And so last week 0:14:01.420 --> 0:14:05.340 we saw in Psalm 65 he says, listen, you need 0:14:05.340 --> 0:14:10.739 to know that you have the privilege of worship. Why 0:14:11.580 --> 0:14:15.620 should a person take worship as a privilege? Number one, 0:14:15.620 --> 0:14:20.260 what we saw verse one last week because you come 0:14:20.260 --> 0:14:22.860 into his presence. Now see, that doesn't mean a whole 0:14:22.860 --> 0:14:25.500 lot to us. But what we looked at, we come 0:14:25.500 --> 0:14:28.700 into his presence and. And what does that mean? I 0:14:28.740 --> 0:14:31.860 am actually hooked up with the person of God. I 0:14:31.900 --> 0:14:35.060 am in the place of God for the praise of God. 0:14:35.100 --> 0:14:37.900 Now let's move on. Notice what he says. The second 0:14:37.900 --> 0:14:42.980 reason why we ought to see worship as a privilege. 0:14:42.980 --> 0:14:45.900 Verse two. Not only do you come into his presence, 0:14:45.900 --> 0:14:48.020 but you call on him in prayer. Notice what it 0:14:48.020 --> 0:14:51.620 says in verse two O thou that heareth prayer, unto 0:14:51.620 --> 0:14:57.140 thee shall all flesh come. Now, now get this verse one. 0:14:57.740 --> 0:15:00.930 What has to do with hollowed out Verse one. What 0:15:00.930 --> 0:15:04.970 would you see? Verse one. Last week. Who's here? Praise. 0:15:05.890 --> 0:15:09.890 What's he talking about now? Prayer. Here. The first thing 0:15:09.890 --> 0:15:15.170 I want you to see is the connection between verse 0:15:15.170 --> 0:15:18.370 one and verse two. You say what connection? Okay, here 0:15:18.370 --> 0:15:24.970 it is. We praise him so we can pray to him. 0:15:25.170 --> 0:15:29.010 I submit to you that verse one and verse two 0:15:29.050 --> 0:15:33.850 in this Psalm is connected because he wants us to understand. 0:15:33.850 --> 0:15:36.530 If you don't have a verse, one, you don't need 0:15:36.530 --> 0:15:39.250 a verse two that if you don't have a verse, one, 0:15:39.250 --> 0:15:41.650 you don't get a verse two that that you need 0:15:41.650 --> 0:15:47.090 to understand that what God wants from us is praise, 0:15:47.810 --> 0:15:52.210 and what God gives to us is provision. That if 0:15:52.210 --> 0:15:56.730 we don't have praise, we don't need to pray. Okay, 0:15:56.730 --> 0:15:59.650 you don't believe what I'm saying? In other words, his 0:15:59.770 --> 0:16:02.770 worship is connected to your wants. You go ahead and 0:16:02.770 --> 0:16:05.010 do it yourself. I'm not going to run the role, 0:16:05.010 --> 0:16:08.570 but look at how many people were in the context 0:16:08.610 --> 0:16:13.970 of worship, seeing God minister to their wants and minister 0:16:13.970 --> 0:16:17.250 to their needs. That while we're in the midst of 0:16:17.370 --> 0:16:21.170 the presence of God, God is going and touching people 0:16:21.170 --> 0:16:26.410 and moving and ministering by His Spirit. In other words, 0:16:26.410 --> 0:16:29.610 when I make him my priority, he makes my provision 0:16:29.610 --> 0:16:32.890 his priority. In other words, when I give God what 0:16:32.890 --> 0:16:37.690 he wants, God gives me what I want. You know, 0:16:37.730 --> 0:16:40.410 I just finished the book, but remember when we studied 0:16:40.690 --> 0:16:43.370 a new look at an old prayer in Matthew 16, 0:16:43.410 --> 0:16:45.170 the disciples prayer? Let me let me show you what 0:16:45.170 --> 0:16:47.730 I mean. Here's what the here's what the the the 0:16:47.770 --> 0:16:51.170 Bible says. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be 0:16:51.170 --> 0:16:56.290 thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Notice 0:16:56.290 --> 0:17:00.290 what he says then it says, give us this day 0:17:00.570 --> 0:17:03.370 our daily bread and all the rest of em. Let me. 0:17:03.370 --> 0:17:04.970 Let me see if I can get you to understand it. 0:17:05.010 --> 0:17:08.770 Hallowed be thy name. That's God's person. Thy kingdom come. 0:17:08.770 --> 0:17:12.770 That's God's program. Thy will be done. That's God's plan. 0:17:12.770 --> 0:17:15.210 And so God says, listen, I want you to have 0:17:15.210 --> 0:17:18.970 my person program and plan as your priority. And when 0:17:18.970 --> 0:17:22.450 you do, here's what you get. Give us this day. 0:17:22.450 --> 0:17:25.610 Forgive us our debts. Lead us not. So. God says, 0:17:25.609 --> 0:17:28.850 when you when you have my person, program and plan 0:17:28.850 --> 0:17:32.490 as a priority, then I have your provision pardon and 0:17:32.490 --> 0:17:36.330 protection as my priority. And that's the way the whole 0:17:36.330 --> 0:17:39.730 prayer is set up. And you see it here in 0:17:39.730 --> 0:17:43.889 this Psalm, because sometimes we get the cart before the horse. 0:17:45.330 --> 0:17:49.810 In other words, why should God answer our prayer when 0:17:49.810 --> 0:17:57.690 we don't adore him? Hmm. Let me just say this. 0:17:58.490 --> 0:18:06.050 The problem in America is not with the sinners. Sinners 0:18:06.490 --> 0:18:11.970 sin because that's what sinners do. Why are we surprised? 0:18:12.250 --> 0:18:18.170 Some just do it better than others. That's it. No, no, no. 0:18:18.170 --> 0:18:21.969 But the problem is not with sinners. Let me say 0:18:21.970 --> 0:18:24.170 it again. What I've been saying the whole time. The 0:18:24.170 --> 0:18:26.330 answer is not going to come from the white House. 0:18:26.330 --> 0:18:28.570 The answer is not going to come from the state House. 0:18:28.570 --> 0:18:30.929 The answer is not going to come from the courthouse. 0:18:30.970 --> 0:18:33.730 It's only going to come from the church house. And 0:18:33.730 --> 0:18:38.369 so the problem in America is right in this room, 0:18:39.170 --> 0:18:42.810 because the Bible says Second Chronicles 714 if my people, 0:18:42.810 --> 0:18:45.810 which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and 0:18:45.810 --> 0:18:49.930 pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then, 0:18:50.330 --> 0:18:54.370 then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their 0:18:54.369 --> 0:18:57.130 sin and heal their land. No matter who's sitting in 0:18:57.130 --> 0:19:01.530 the Oval Office, God will still be sitting on the throne. Yeah. 0:19:01.650 --> 0:19:05.050 That's right. That's right. So it really doesn't matter. Here's 0:19:05.050 --> 0:19:08.050 another one that you probably won't like. And whoever's sitting 0:19:08.050 --> 0:19:13.050 in the Oval Office, God is the one who orchestrated it. 0:19:13.050 --> 0:19:18.730 And he orchestrated it for his purposes. Yeah, because Daniel 0:19:18.730 --> 0:19:22.010 chapter two says he's the one who sets up one 0:19:22.010 --> 0:19:25.690 king and pulls down another. And I'll tell you something else. 0:19:25.690 --> 0:19:30.010 Romans 13 tells us that we are obligated to obey 0:19:30.010 --> 0:19:35.370 the government. You know, it's like it's like, do you know, 0:19:35.369 --> 0:19:42.170 eternal lives matter? Yeah, yeah. Do you know that? Yeah. 0:19:42.290 --> 0:19:45.410 And so what what's happening? It is, it is we 0:19:45.410 --> 0:19:49.290 are to understand that worshiping God is a privilege. We 0:19:49.290 --> 0:19:52.850 can call on him in prayer. And the psalmist says 0:19:52.890 --> 0:19:56.970 worship is a privilege because I get to call on 0:19:56.970 --> 0:19:59.130 God in prayer. So let me go back to the oh, 0:19:59.170 --> 0:20:01.570 let me go back to the oh, look at the text. 0:20:01.609 --> 0:20:05.889 O thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all flesh come. Now, 0:20:05.930 --> 0:20:08.369 last week, anybody want to stand up and tell us 0:20:08.369 --> 0:20:15.810 what O means? Exclamation point! Excitement, enthusiasm. So he says 0:20:15.810 --> 0:20:19.090 in verse one, praise Waiteth for thee. I can't wait 0:20:19.090 --> 0:20:22.370 to praise God. Hey, listen, how many of you understand 0:20:22.369 --> 0:20:29.570 that worship is not a spectator sport? It's a participatory 0:20:29.570 --> 0:20:35.850 sport that all of us ought to be engaged in worship. 0:20:36.570 --> 0:20:39.770 So here he says, oh, I'm excited about you, God, 0:20:39.770 --> 0:20:42.889 I'm waiting to praise you. Uh, but listen, he's as 0:20:42.890 --> 0:20:48.330 excited about prayer as he is about praise right over 0:20:48.330 --> 0:20:50.690 your head. Say, what are you talking about? That's what 0:20:50.690 --> 0:20:54.490 I see. He says we ought to be worshiping God 0:20:54.490 --> 0:20:57.409 for the privilege of being able to worship him, because 0:20:57.410 --> 0:20:59.679 we can come to him in prayer, and we are 0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:03.760 to be consistent. Now, some of you, uh, are not, uh, see, 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.919 think about this. Uh, some of you like some of 0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:09.919 the songs that we sing, but not all the songs. 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:12.920 Some of you like some of the verses about Jesus, 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:16.040 but not all of them. Some of you like some 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:19.080 of the sermons that I preach, but not all of them, 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:21.239 because right now some of you are saying, I'll be 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:23.360 glad when this is over. Uh, he go on back 0:21:23.359 --> 0:21:26.280 to relationship or something, you know, it's like, okay, I, 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.920 I get it, I get it, I get it. Some 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:33.160 of you going to lose your enthusiasm at offering time. 0:21:36.119 --> 0:21:39.400 Here's what he's saying. We ought to seek for a 0:21:39.400 --> 0:21:44.080 consistent life that that that we are to love prayer 0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:48.720 as much as we love praise. I'm just excited about 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:51.640 prayer as I am about praise. I know some of 0:21:51.640 --> 0:21:54.359 you are not excited about prayer. How do you know that? 0:21:54.359 --> 0:21:59.880 Because you never come. You never come to prayer. I 0:22:00.160 --> 0:22:03.160 pray at home, but the Bible says we should pray 0:22:03.160 --> 0:22:05.359 together as a corporate church. 0:22:07.760 --> 0:22:11.200 You know, worship is a privilege. And hopefully this message 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:14.720 from Pastor Ford is helping you see that with fresh eyes. 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:17.320 You're listening to Treasure Truth, and you can find us 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:21.640 online when you come to treasure Truth Radio. You know, 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:24.680 as we're talking about prayer and worship, it's only natural 0:22:24.680 --> 0:22:28.000 to ask, how did these important aspects of our faith 0:22:28.119 --> 0:22:31.199 fit into your marriage? You know, it's so easy to 0:22:31.240 --> 0:22:34.840 make faith personal, and we don't know then how to 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:38.280 invite our spouse in. But God designed marriage to be 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:42.119 a partnership at the deepest level, a relationship founded upon 0:22:42.119 --> 0:22:45.520 God's own love and commitment to each of us. In 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:48.840 the book Seven Reasons Why God Created Marriage, Pastor Ford 0:22:48.880 --> 0:22:52.400 takes an in-depth look at the biblical foundation of marriage, 0:22:52.680 --> 0:22:54.679 a look that will help you have a God honoring 0:22:54.680 --> 0:22:58.199 relationship with your husband or wife. You can request a 0:22:58.200 --> 0:22:59.919 copy of this book When you give a gift of 0:22:59.920 --> 0:23:02.960 any amount to treasure truth. Read it on your own 0:23:02.960 --> 0:23:04.920 or use it as a basis for a study with 0:23:04.920 --> 0:23:07.880 your small group or Sunday school class. Call us at 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:14.280 888 644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth Radio.com. 0:23:15.560 --> 0:23:18.520 And if you're growing by being exposed to this teaching 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:21.520 on treasure truth, maybe today's the day that you take 0:23:21.520 --> 0:23:25.000 that next step in your support and become a monthly partner. 0:23:25.520 --> 0:23:27.959 Automating your giving is easy to do when you go 0:23:27.960 --> 0:23:34.840 to Treasure Truth Radio. Org or call us at 888644 7660. 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:38.439 I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios. Join us 0:23:38.440 --> 0:23:40.960 again next time as we go deeper in the study 0:23:40.960 --> 0:23:44.440 on the privilege of worship with Pastor Ford. That's here 0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:48.840 on Treasure Truth. A production of Moody Radio, a ministry 0:23:48.840 --> 0:23:50.400 of Moody Bible Institute.